Community fads
| “ | Gentlemen.
Click to listen
— The Spy
|
” |
Community fads are fads that circulate or originate throughout the Team Fortress 2 community. A fad by definition is "Any form of behavior that develops among a large population and is collectively followed with enthusiasm for some period..."[1] The medium used in which to create the fads can range from not only Team Fortress 2 itself, but also Template:W and Template:W. These are some of the most frequent used mediums to create Team Fortress 2 fads.
Some of the more well-known fads have gone on to become internet memes, defined as "Ideas or concepts that attain online popularity."[2]
Contents
Fads found in-game
Crazy Legs
The Crazy Legs phenomenon has existed for as long as Team Fortress 2 has been public. Crazy Legs exist as a bug that affects a Scout's legs, turning them into something that has been described as "Two raw bacon strips held up in a wind tunnel." As a result, Crazy Legs is also called Bacon Legs. Officially, the bug is fixed, and has been since the January 13, 2010 Patch. Unfortunately - or fortunately, for fans of the bug - Crazy Legs lives on in the game. Although still present, the effects are drastically less blatant than before the fix.
The bug occurs when the Scout crouches and double jumps. The effect is also visible in third-person, and is likely to happen when in third-person as the Civilian.
Crazy Legs actually gained enough notoriety to get a back story and recognition on the TF2 Blog.[3]
Demopan
The Demopan fad originates from a Steam User Forums thread titled "The New Face of TF2". The thread contained a Deathcam shot featuring the Demoman (as seen to the right). It quickly became a fad as the photograph spread across the Team Fortress community. The Demopan, with the name "STOUT SHAKO FOR 2 REFINED", is the BLU Demoman equipped with the Frying Pan, Chargin' Targe, Bounty Hat, and Dangeresque, Too? Several other images were made with the cutout of the Demopan to continue the fad such as the Demopan with an explosion and a cutout of the Demopan in the Deathcam. A user on YouTube with the account name SpawnThemAll created a video that spoofs Meet the Demoman; the video features crudely cutout images of the Demopan's face and items over the top of the Demoman whilst using audio mashup content to change certain lines of dialogue.
A fake class page was created and featured on this wiki for April Fools Day 2011. It was created by wiki user Benjamoose, and turned into an official Team Fortress 2 Wiki article for the day.
Meet the Demopan footage.
- Demopan is a recognized and confirmed meme.
Gentlemen
| “ | Gentlemen.
Click to listen
— The Spy
|
” |
The Gentlemen fad stems from one of the Spy's most ubiquitous catchphrases. His calm, suave, calculating persona is encapsulated in his utterance of this simple address, followed by the careful placement of a cigarette.
The fad itself is a widely recognized image macro, originally spawned by a Garry's Mod screenshot of the Spy with his mouth jammed with cigarettes followed by the caption "GENTLEMEN." in capital letters. It was soon remade into a cartoon caricature of the same picture. The concept quickly exploded and expanded to feature a version for every Team Fortress character. The basic formula for the macro is straightforward; it is a caricatured drawing of the character with their mouth jammed full of objects that usually pertain to aspects of that character. For example, a Gentlemen fad for the Heavy may involve a caricature of the Heavy with his custom bullets crammed into his mouth and the text "BULLETS." underneath. Other characters have been integrated into this meme as well- for example, a picture of Gordon Freeman from Half-Life with a mouth full of crowbars (his signature weapon).
The word "Gentlemen" is also often deliberately misspelled as "Mentlegen" and accompanied by altered versions of the original Gentlemen image macro. A bot can be randomly named Mentlegen as a tribute.
- Gentlemen is a recognized and confirmed meme.
Original screenshot from Garry's Mod.
The popular corruption of Gentlemen.
Spycrab
One of the most well-known fads within Team Fortress 2 is the Spycrab. The Spycrab is an animation oversight caused by the Spy looking straight up while holding the Disguise Kit, crouching, then walking in any direction. This causes the Spy to move around in an amusing fashion that resembles a crab. Dapper Rogue, a "Catalogue for the Gentleman Scoundrel", referenced this by including a "Crab-Walking Kit" with the description "It will change your skeleton! Excruciatingly painful but worth it."
Due to its popularity, the Spycrab was included as an alternative taunt for the Disguise Kit in the Sniper vs. Spy Update.
Footage of a player doing the Spycrab.
- The Spycrab is a recognized and confirmed meme.
- A fan-made game mode was made in honor of this fad.
- Since the Spycrab taunt is harder to initiate than others, it has spawned a widespread gambling pastime, called Spycrabbing. The participants must be the first to initiate the taunt before the competitors, with the reward of varied items that are wagered.
Community created fads
nope.avi
Created with Template:W by YouTube user Jimbomcb, the nope.avi fad shows the BLU Engineer on Gravel Pit slowly approaching the screen. As he stops, his hard hat floats up and he utters the phrase "Nope" while his neck elongates. He then promptly leaves the scene.
nope.avi is frequently used in conversations as a "humorous" negative response. Instead of replying "No", the person may post a link to the video or type "nope.avi".
Several similar videos were produced consisting of other characters uttering a phrase before a drastic physical transformation took place.
- nope.avi is a recognized and confirmed meme.
